Triple jump examinations for dental student assessment

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Assessment in Higher Education
• Medical Education

Background:

• The triple jump examination (TJE) is designed to evaluate advanced learning outcomes.
• It requires students to apply analysis, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to patient care scenarios.
• Validating assessment tools is crucial for ensuring the quality of medical and dental education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the internal consistency of the TJE.
• To examine the scale reliability and interrater reliability of the TJE.
• To validate the TJE as a measure of higher-level learning in dental students.

Main Methods:

• Statistical analysis of 2,227 TJE scores administered over three years.
• Calculation of Cronbach's coefficient alpha for internal consistency.
• Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to determine interrater reliability.

Main Results:

• The overall TJE demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.869).
• Subscales showed acceptable to good internal consistency (alpha = 0.731, 0.820, 0.820).
• Strong interrater reliability was confirmed (p<0.001), with high agreement among raters (99.5% general, 77.2% exact).

Conclusions:

• The TJE is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing higher-level learning in dental education.
• The assessment shows excellent consistency and agreement among raters, regardless of experience.
• The TJE effectively measures critical thinking and problem-solving in simulated patient care settings.